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Pasta al Pomodora

I have been receiving "Bon Appetit" magazine for years and years. I read them, usually, cover to cover, but rarely try any of the recipes within its pages. So for my New Year's resolution this year I decided to try to prepare 3-4 recipes per issue every month from the "BA" pages. Last night I prepared the PASTA POMODORA from the new May issue. It was super-duper extra easy and only took about 30 minutes. It is the perfect quick weekend recipe!!!

I did make a fresh batch of roasted garlic foccacia bread to go with the pasta, but you can serve this with simple garlic bread or Texas Toast. I've added the magazine cover picture and the picture of my own pasta, because as you well know recipes rarely (if EVER) turn out like the picture you see of them in cookbooks or periodicals. Mine came out really close to the photo-AMAZING!!!!

Heat the oil over medium low in a 12" skillet. Add the onions and cook until very soft-about 12 minutes. Add the garlic and cook about 4 minutes until very fragrant. Add the red pepper and cook one minute more. Increase the heat to medium, and add the tomato puree. Cook stirring occasionally for 20 minutes, until the sauce is thicken up. Remove the pan from heat and stir in the basil, and set aside. Meanwhile, bring the seasoned water to a boil and add the pasta-cooking until about 2 minutes before it's done. Drain pasta and reserve 1/2 cup of cooking water. Heat the sauce over medium heat and add the water to loosen the sauce a bit, add the pasta and cook while stirring until pasta is done and al dente. Remove form the heat and stir in the butter, and cheese. Toss until cheese is melted into the sauce. Serve in the nicest pasta bowls you have-garnished with extra cheese and basil on top. ENJOY!!!!